I didn't plan on it. I was merely looking for a place to sit. Fortunately, the bench was right across from a sculpture of a Chinese Guanyin Bodhissatva:
The picture doesn't do her justice. (The museum describes the sculpture as a he, but Kwan Yin/Guanyin is the Goddess of Mercy and this statue is a she. Believe me.)
Sitting with her, the most marvelous feeling peace and acceptance melted into my bones like warm honey. Her gaze is at once aloof and entirely present. She is not beautiful, but she IS beauty.
I wanted to meet the sculptor and bow down before them. To me, they created a perfect work of art. The statue is of the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion, and in its presence, one feels mercy and compassion.
The statue is useful, too. Gazing into another person's eyes and truly accepting their love is difficult for most of us. Having a statue to cast that kind of loving gaze is easier to take.
I sat there and sat there. I left for a bit and came back. I returned again "just for a moment." I left my friends and went back to take a picture.
I thought about her all day. I am still thinking about her.
Now THAT is good art.
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6 comments:
She's gorgeous. I did that with Monet's Waterlilies. I sat on a bench and just stared. It made me feel so peaceful.Makes me want to go to the art museum now.
I don't really remember much about it, but I do recall in one of my religious studies classes learning that Kuan Yin was originally male. I don't think the deity actually went through a transformation, but his/her story did as it traveled from country to country. Not sure about the details, though.
Good looking statue, though.
ok, I'll go steal that statue so you can keep it with you and always feel good.
It's up to you to lug it around, though.
Wow. I love that. And now you have a picture to remember her with.
She's beautiful.
I have friends who made a part of their garden the Kwan Yin garden, with a little stone bench near the statue.
I want to say that being in that part of their garden is the most peace I have felt in a very long time.
Beautiful. Did you notice how her foot is in an impossible (for lowly me, anyway) position? I always love that about Buddhist and Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
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